{"title":"Metastatic lung cancer with occult primary site: a difficult diagnosis.","authors":"Qing Zhu, Hongkai Zhang","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Occult primary non-small cell lung cancer (OP-NSCLC) is a relatively rare entity that brings difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. Accurate diagnosis depends on biopsy specimens. Often, repeated biopsies are required. Here we report a patient who underwent 3 rounds of biopsy of her cervical superficial enlarged lymph nodes to get a final diagnosis of occult metastatic lung cancer. There was no evidence of primary lesions in the lung. The patient was treated with targeted chemotherapy and survived 4 years. We emphasize the importance of repeated biopsies or resection biopsy for a definitive diagnosis. Though molecular technologies and imaging may identify a primary site, some cases have occult primaries. Adjunct examination methods such as immunohistochemistry and/or molecular methods are valuable for definite diagnosis and guiding treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":13943,"journal":{"name":"International journal of clinical and experimental pathology","volume":"16 1","pages":"14-19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9929614/pdf/ijcep0016-0014.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International journal of clinical and experimental pathology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Occult primary non-small cell lung cancer (OP-NSCLC) is a relatively rare entity that brings difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. Accurate diagnosis depends on biopsy specimens. Often, repeated biopsies are required. Here we report a patient who underwent 3 rounds of biopsy of her cervical superficial enlarged lymph nodes to get a final diagnosis of occult metastatic lung cancer. There was no evidence of primary lesions in the lung. The patient was treated with targeted chemotherapy and survived 4 years. We emphasize the importance of repeated biopsies or resection biopsy for a definitive diagnosis. Though molecular technologies and imaging may identify a primary site, some cases have occult primaries. Adjunct examination methods such as immunohistochemistry and/or molecular methods are valuable for definite diagnosis and guiding treatment.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology (IJCEP, ISSN 1936-2625) is a peer reviewed, open access online journal. It was founded in 2008 by an international group of academic pathologists and scientists who are devoted to the scientific exploration of human disease and the rapid dissemination of original data. Unlike most other open access online journals, IJCEP will keep all the traditional features of paper print that we are all familiar with, such as continuous volume and issue numbers, as well as continuous page numbers to keep our warm feelings towards an academic journal. Unlike most other open access online journals, IJCEP will keep all the traditional features of paper print that we are all familiar with, such as continuous volume and issue numbers, as well as continuous page numbers to keep our warm feelings towards an academic journal.